INDOT will be doing work along State Road 46 in Brown and Monroe counties that will restrict traffic starting next week.

The agency says that geotechnical crews will be doing coring and drilling work along the highway, starting Tuesday and lasting to the end of August. You can expect lane closures daily from State Road 446 near Bloomington to State Road 135 near Nashville. Crews will start in the eastbound lanes in Monroe County, working toward Nashville and then switching to the westbound lanes heading back to Bloomington.

The drilling and coring work will be done between 8:30 a.m. in the morning and 4:30 p.m. each day until finished. The work schedule is dependent on the weather.

The work is part of a future construction project that will resurface the highway and replace three bridge decks and four small drainage structures. It is expected to start in fall of 2024.

INDOT reminds you to slow down, to drive without distractions and to be alert to worker safety in construction zones.

Three people were seriously injured in a crash near Westport earlier this week and had to be flown to Indianapolis-area hospitals.

The Letts Community Volunteer Fire Department, reports that rescue workers were called to a two-vehicle crash at the entrance to the Westport dam, near Layton Drive and County Road 1100S on Tuesday.

According to the fire department, Letts medics transported one victim to Decatur County Memorial Hospital’s helipad where they were flown by IU Lifeline helicopter to an Indianapolis trauma center. A second person was taken to the Greensburg municipal airport by Letts medics and then flown by IU Lifeline helicopter to Indianapolis and a third person was treated by Decatur County medics, then taken to Indianapolis by a Statflight medical helicopter that landed at the scene of the crash.

The driver of a second vehicle was uninjured.

Other agencies assisting at the scene included Westport and Greensburg fire departments, Wesport police, Decatur County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police.

Photo courtesy of Letts Community Volunteer Fire Department.

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis has issued a flash flood warning for northeastern Bartholomew, northwestern Decatur  and southeastern Shelby counties in until 11:30 a.m.

Doppler radar indicates thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the area. Between 2 and 3 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts of 0.5 to 1 inch are
possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.

You can expect flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas.

Some locations that will experience flash flooding include Greensburg, Adams, Hope, Flat Rock, Milford, Geneva and Burney.

Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads.

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis has issued a flood warning for our area until 1:30 p.m. this afternoon.

The affected area includes Bartholomew, Decatur, Jackson and Jennings counties.

Flooding caused by excessive rainfall is expected.  Flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations is imminent or occurring.

At 9:18 a.m. Doppler radar indicated heavy rain due to thunderstorms. F Between 1 and 2 inches of rain has fallen and another .5 to 1.5 inches of rain are possible.

Some locations that will experience flooding include Seymour, North Vernon, Brownstown, Vernon, Crothersville, Westport, Medora, Elizabethtown, Jonesville, Hayden, Azalia, Cortland, Country Squire Lakes, Waymansville, Grammer, Vallonia, Freetown, Butlerville, Kurtz and Pleasant View.

You should be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads. Turn around and don’t drown.

Update:

INDOT now says that it is delaying work on State Road 135, originally set to start next week in Brown County.

Crews are going to replace a quadruple drainage pipe near Beech Drive. A new start date will be announced..

Previously:

INDOT says crews will be closing a section of State Road 135 in Brown County next week.

The work will be done Monday and Tuesday to replace a quadruple drainage pipe near Beech Road. Although the road will likely reopen Tuesday, weather permitting, patching work to smooth out the surface will be going on through Friday. You should look for an alternate route while the work is ongoing.

INDOT asks that you slow down, drive without distractions and be alert to worker safety in all construction zones.

A reminder that INDOT plans to close lanes on National Road through Columbus, starting tonight weather permitting.

Contractors will be milling and paving on U.S. 31 through the city between County Road 300E and Market Street. You can expect lanes to close between 6 at night and 6 in the morning Mondays through Fridays, through September.

You can expect intermittent flagging and restrictions on intersecting side streets during the project. You should also be aware of rough pavement and changes to signal timings due to the operations.

INDOT asks you to slow down, to drive without distractions and to be alert for worker safety in all construction zones.

Columbus native and former Vice President Mike Pence is coming out with a new book later this year.

It’s called “So Help Me God.” Pence tweeted it’s his “story of faith and public service for the country” he loves very much.

The book comes out Nov. 15th, one week after Election Day. Pence is considered a potential Republican candidate for President in 2024. That could put him on a collision course with former President Trump, the man he served alongside in the White House until early last year.

Story courtesy of TTWN Media Networks Inc.

Bartholomew County Commissioners are unhappy with the price of gasoline in the community, especially how prices differ by almost a dollar depending on where you are buying it.

At this week’s Bartholomew County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz used the end of the meeting to vent about high gas prices. Specifically, he said that prices in Taylorsville are nearly a dollar lower than they are at the State Road 46 exit. Kleinhenz said that commissioners have tried over the years to get to the bottom of fluctuating and unfair prices in the community, but have had little luck.

Kleinhenz maintains that the exact same companies, selling gas from the same trucks are marking up prices and gouging customers in more affluent areas of the community. Commissioners Carl Lienhoop and Tony London agreed that they also noticed the price differences. Lienhoop said he told recent visitors that their best bet was to fill up in the northern part of the county.

Kleinhenz said he wished the county could entice another fuel company to come to the west side of Columbus by offering them a tax break, contingent on lower prices for the community. He said it goes against his typical capitalistic ideals, but he feels people are being taken advantage of.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for our area through 10 a.m. due to the heavy rain.

According to forecasters, you could see minor flooding this morning in low-lying areas and areas with poor drainage throughout parts of Bartholomew, Decatur, Johnson, Rush and Shelby counties.  Affected areas include  Franklin, Greensburg, Adams, Edinburgh, Hope, Flat Rock, Milford, Princes Lakes, Geneva, Trafalgar, St. Paul, Hartsville, Waldron, Burney, Marietta, Letts, Sandusky, Clarksburg, Newpoint and Lake Santee.

Earlier:

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis has issued a flood watch for our area through 8 p.m. tonight.

Forecasters say that the heavy rain yesterday and overnight could lead to excessive runoff, flooding rivers, creeks, streams and low-lying locations. The affected area includes Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson and Jennings counties.

The weather service says that today’s heavy rain could make the flooding situation worse, especially in areas that have already received heavy rain since Sunday, saturating the ground.

If you live in a flood-prone area, you should be prepared to take actions should flooding occur. The weather service warns that if if you come up on a flooded roadway, you should turn around and don’t drown.

A fugitive in a California attempted murder case was arrested in Columbus early Tuesday morning.

According to reports from the Columbus Police Department, officers from the community Intelligence Led Policing Unit and special agents from the U.S. Marshalls Service Fugitive Task Force arrested 40-year-old Gerber E. Canizalez Estrada, of Los Angeles after a traffic stop at about 5:20 a.m. yesterday morning near 10th Street and Gladstone Avenue.

Police say that Estrada gave a fake name to officers and presented a fake ID card. His identity was confirmed and he was found to be wanted on a California warrant in a case where a woman was stabbed multiple times.

He was arrested on preliminary charges of possession of a false government identification card, false informing and operating a vehicle without a license as well as the California warrant.